The Morning Vertical, April 6, 2017

This week's devastating chemical weapons attack in Syria not only reminded us yet again of Bashar al-Assad's brutality, it also exposed the cynicism and dishonesty at the heart of Russia's foreign policy.

Russia proposed and brokered an agreement in 2013 to place Syria's chemical weapons under international control.

That agreement helped prevent U.S.-and-French-led international military action against Assad in response to the August 2013 Ghouta chemical-weapons attack.

Russia's intervention in Syria's civil war in 2015 likely saved Assad from almost certain defeat.

Moscow has insisted that that any peace settlement in Syria keep Assad in power.

And against the preponderance of evidence, Vladimir Putin's regime continues to insist that Assad was not responsible for this week's attack.

Putin has supported, propped up, and defended Assad. He owns him. Assad now is Putin's creature.

And that makes Putin's regime an accomplice to war crimes.

IN THE NEWS

Authorities in St. Petersburg say an explosive device has been discovered in an apartment building and defused.

Russia says National Guard troops have killed four men suspected of involvement in a deadly attack on traffic police in the southern city of Astrakhan.

The number of Russians living in poverty reached 19.8 million last year, the highest in a decade, as the economy struggled through a recession following a sharp oil-price drop and the imposition of Western sanctions over Moscow's actions in Ukraine.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has said that "all evidence points" to the Syrian government being behind a devastating chemical attack this week, and called on Russia to honor its agreement to help eliminate chemical weapons in Syria.

Two Democratic lawmakers are pushing a new measure to keep U.S. President Donald Trump from altering current U.S. policy toward Russia until an ongoing FBI investigation is completed.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Moscow on April 12 for talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.

U.S. authorities have deported a man convicted of working as an unregistered Russian government agent, in a case that has shed light on Russian intelligence operations in the United States.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyaev has said Russia and Uzbekistan signed investments deals worth $12 billion during his two-day visit to Moscow.

Andrei Nikitin, a Russian Muslim who was mistakenly mentioned as a possible bomber in the April 3 attack on the St. Petersburg subway, has been facing discrimination since the incident.

About This Blog

The Power Vertical is a blog written especially for Russia wonks and obsessive Kremlin watchers by Brian Whitmore. It offers Brian's personal take on emerging and developing trends in Russian politics, shining a spotlight on the high-stakes power struggles, machinations, and clashing interests that shape Kremlin policy today. Check out The Power VerticalFacebookpage or Follow @PowerVertical